NASA investigating first crime committed in space
Washington: US space agency NASA is investigating what may be the first crime committed in outer space, The New York Times reported Saturday. Astronaut Anne McClain is accused of identity theft and improperly accessing her estranged wife’s private financial records while on a sixth-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the Times said. The astronaut’s spouse Summer Worden filed a complaint earlier this year with the Federal Trade Commission after learning McClain had accessed her bank account without permission, while Worden’s family filed another with NASA’s Office of Inspector General, according to the newspaper. McClain’s lawyer said the astronaut had done nothing wrong and accessed the bank records while aboard the ISS in order to monitor the couple’s combined finances — something she had done over the course of their relationship, the Times reported. NASA investigators have contacted both women, according to the newspaper. McClain, who returned to Earth in June, gained fame for being one of two women picked for a historic all-female spacewalk, but NASA scrapped the planned walk in March due to a lack of well-fitting spacesuits, sparking accusations of sexism. Worden said the FTC has not responded to the identity theft report, but that an investigator specializing in criminal cases with NASA’s Office of Inspector General has been looking into the accusation, according to the Times. (AFP)
Owlman caught on camera
LONDON: A ghosthunter claims to have filmed the Owlman of Mawnan Smith, a creature of legend that hasn’t been sighted in more than 40 years. The Owlman of Mawnan Smith has been the subject of folklore since the 1920s but there haven’t been any sightings since 1976. More than 40 years later, ghosthunter Mark Davies claims he’s caught the infamous character on camera. In the footage Mark and a friend can be seen prowling around the spooky graveyard, which lies behind a gate with a dramatic-looking inscription. It reads “Da thymi nesse the Dhu,”, which is Cornish and translates to “It is good to draw nigh to the Lord”. Mark holds out a spiritual detector and pans his camera around the graveyard, asking if “any creature lives here”. Then, in the corner of the frame, a ghostly figure can be seen. But, when Mark goes to investigate, the apparition had vanished and he could find no more trace of the Owlman. According to local folklore, two teenage girls once spotted the figure while on holiday in Mawnan Smith, near Falmouth, Cornwall. One day, they walked down to an old and remote church, more than a mile from the village centre. There, the two teenagers saw a terrifying “bird-man” with wings and feathers on top of the church tower. The story says that they were so scared by the sighting that their father decided to put an end to their holidays and leave Cornwall immediately. In July of the same year, two 14-year-old girls decided to go camping in the area, but spotted a giant owl of human-size ‘with glowing eyes’. At the time, all eyes turned to the village and the discovery made the headlines, naming the beast the Owlman of Mawnan Smith. Although Cornish people still remember its story, many said they had not heard its name for many years. (Agencies)